Long, Blunt: No, no, no on Obama proposals

McCaskill says regulations won't impose on Second Amendment freedoms

In this Jan. 4, 2013, photo, a man fires a hand gun at Sandy Springs Gun Club and Range, in Sandy Springs, Ga. In Connecticut and Colorado, scenes of the most deadly U.S. mass shootings in 2012, people were less enthusiastic about buying new guns at the end of the year than in most other states, according to an Associated Press analysis of new FBI data. The biggest surges in background checks for people who want to carry or buy guns occurred in states in the South and West. (AP Photo/Robert Ray)

Rep. Billy Long said he is categorically opposed to the new gun restrictions proposed by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, arguing they would interfere with Americans' ability to defend themselves.

Long, R-Springfield, said he would not support renewing the ban on assault weapons, barring the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips, or requiring background checks for individuals who purchase weapons at gun shows.

"That's not where the problem lies," Long said. "These criminals are not getting their guns at gun shows or auctions."

Nearly 40 percent of gun sales are made in such unregulated settings, without a background check to see if the buyer has a criminal record or history of mental health problems, according to the White House. Gun control advocates point to numerous instances in which criminals have purchased guns from these private sellers -- guns they would not have been able to get from licensed dealers subject to the background check requirements, including the Columbine High School shooters.

Asked about the president's call for limiting the sale of ammunition clips to those holding 10 rounds or fewer, Long was equally adamant that it would not reduce gun violence.

"If you're lying in bed at 4 in the morning and four people kick your door in, would you like to be restricted to five shots or six shots?" he asked. "You'd want all the fire you can get to protect your family and yourself."

In a statement, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, also expressed strong opposition to the White House's plans.

"Rash gun control legislation will not keep our children safer," she said.

"Many of the President's proposals simply act to restrict the ability of law abiding citizens to protect their families," Hartzler said. "Proposals that focus on enforcing our current laws, requiring federal agencies to provide information on criminals to the FBI's background check database, and giving states the necessary flexibility to protect our children have merit. Additionally, we must have a meaningful conversation about mental health issues and other societal contributors to violent behavior rather than simplistically attacking the tool used by criminals."

The charged debate over gun control has been reignited in the wake of last month's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, in which a gunman killed 20 children and 6 adults. The killer also shot his mother and himself in the rampage.

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said Obama's proposals "fundamentally fail to address ways that we can prevent tragic events like Sandy Hook, and instead, he's attempting to restrict the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans."

Blunt called for "a serious national discussion about preventing senseless acts of violence and protecting our children in their schools, and that should include finding ways to spend federal dollars more wisely when it comes to treating and identifying people who are mentally ill, and ensuring that we intervene before they do something that tragically impacts their lives and the lives of others."

A staunch gun-rights supporters, Blunt is under pressure from a local emergency doctor, Gilbert Mobley, to support universal background checks and limits on big magazine clips.

Mobley recorded a 60-second radio spot that will air today on a half-dozen local stations during morning drive time. In the spot, he says those two measures have widespread support and would represent "meaningful change."

"Sen. Blunt is way out of step with his constituency on this common sense measure," Mobley says. "And he hasn't even said why he's against background checks or limits on magazine sizes." He said he pre-paid for ad time allowing Blunt to respond.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., called the White House's proposals a good step that will not infringe on Second Amendment rights.

"Some of these proposals, like background checks before all gun purchases, are ideas I've supported since I was a Jackson Country prosecutor," McCaskill said in a statement. "Others, like limiting the size of magazines, are just common sense. The tragedy in Newtown, along with other tragedies that haven't seen the national spotlight, show a clear need for us to focus on practical solutions."

The Connecticut shooting seems to have shifted public and political opinion to some degree, but deep opposition remains.

A CNN/Time Magazine/ORC International poll released on Wednesday showed a majority of Americans support new restrictions on gun ownership. The survey found that 55 percent favor stricter gun control laws, while 44 percent oppose new curbs.

Long's views are emblematic of the opposition in Congress to any new gun restrictions.

"People need to be able to defend themselves as crazy as this world's getting," Long said.

When he was a child and learned about some tragedy like a shooting, Long said, his grandmother would tell him "there's just a lot of meanness in the world." That still resonates with him today, he said, adding "we need to figure out as a society what we're doing to augment that meanness."

Long said he was open to the White House's call for providing more resources to identify and treat mental illnesses.

"We need to make sure we're doing everything we can to make sure that people who need help are getting it," he said. He also expressed support for "stiffer sentencing guidelines" for those who flout existing gun laws.

But he said there's no "quick fix" to gun violence. "It's a convoluted problem that's going to take an effort from everybody from top to bottom" to address.

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Long, Blunt: No, no, no on Obama proposals

Rep. Billy Long said he is categorically opposed to the new gun restrictions proposed by President Barack Obama on Wednesday, arguing they would interfere with Americans' ability to defend themselves.